Interprovincial migration of physicians in Canada: What are the determinants?

This paper analyzes factors contributing to interprovincial migration of physicians in Canada. It (1) compares the migration patterns of the general practitioners and specialists (medical and surgical); (2) analyzes the changing patterns of out-migration over time via the interactions between the province of residence and time period; (3) analyzes the effect of language as a determinant of migration out of predominantly French speaking Quebec. A logistic formulation of discrete-time hazard model was employed to estimate the probability of moving from the current province of residence. Sets of physician's individual characteristics variables along with dummy variables to reflect the provincial characteristics and various time-periods were included in the model. The model was extended to allow for interaction effects between the province of residence and time-period, and also between language and Quebec (the only province in Canada which is predominantly French speaking) as province of residence. The results suggest that physician's age, specialty, province of residence have significant impact on interprovincial migration of physicians. The probability of moving differs significantly across province of residences in various time-periods.